GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestine Monetary Authority has launched a new banking system designed to help keep track of the sources and recipients of financial transactions, and facilitate oversight and transparency.

The program, which was put in place Sept. 29, is dubbed Know Your Customer. The procedures are widely used in international banking to comply with anti-money laundering laws. They are designed to help banks verify customers' identities, comply with international best practices and appraise potential risks such as illegal business ties, money laundering, corruption, bribery and terrorism financing. The goal, officials said, is to make sure all local bank transactions are honest.

According to monetary authority data, customers’ deposits in banks operating in the Palestinian territories are constantly growing. They increased from $12.3 billion in February to $12.6 billion in July, a growth rate of 2.6%.

In a press release, the authority cited its governor, Azzam Shawwa, as saying the closer scrutiny will help bridge a gap in financial and demographic data of customers and other financial institutions and help banks make sound decisions. The authority also cited Shawwa as saying that the new system will streamline the opening of new accounts and constantly update customer data.